The 2020 Porsche Taycan (pronounced “tie-con”) takes its name from the horse on the Porsche crest, according to the automaker, which itself was taken from the Stuttgart coat of arms. The name Taycan means lively young horse, according to Porsche.

When the Taycan arrives, it will feature two electric motors producing more than 600 horsepower and will accelerate up to 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds. Its battery pack will provide with more than 300 miles of range, measured on the European cycle.

The Taycan will likely share its bones with the Audi e-tron GT (but not the Audi e-tron), and will take head on the Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model S, and others in a quickly growing luxury electric car movement. In addition to the new name, Porsche doubled down its investment in electrification Friday. Already, the company has committed more than 3 billion Euros to electrifying its fleet, but Porsche added that it would invest a further 3.5 billion Euros beyond the original amount.

Porsche has said that when the Taycan goes on sale, it’ll recharge from empty to 80 percent in 20 minutes, which the company has already called Turbo Charging.

The Taycan will be built in Stuttgart next year, and Porsche said it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new paint shops, motor factories, and transport. Porsche hasn’t said when the new Taycan will show in its final production form, but it’s likely to appear around the 2018 Los Angeles auto show or before.

Porsche is introducing the first all-electrically powered four-seat sports car in the brand’s history: The Porsche E Mission. The concept car combines the unmistakable emotional design of a Porsche with excellent performance and the forward-thinking practicality of the first 800-volt drive system. Key specification data of this fascinating sports car: four doors and four single seats, over 600 hp (440 kW) system power and over 500 km driving range. All-wheel drive and all-wheel steering, zero to 100 km/h acceleration in under 3.5 seconds.

Four individual seats, four doors, two luggage compartments. Electric drive. E-Performance, Porsche style. Integrated in a harmonious overall concept. Concept Study Mission E sets the stage for tomorrow. With its design and its technology, it provides answers to the question of the sports car of the future.

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Porsche Will be 50% Electric In Six Years — Here’s Why That Figure is Important

Volkswagen’s luxury brand Porsche has been associated with high-performance sports cars, high-end race cars, and more recently, luxury SUVS — all of them powered by a range of internal combustion engines ranging from the legendary Boxer engine to powerful turbocharged V-8s. And electric cars were seen as something of a poorer cousin to those vehicles, their performance deemed too inferior for Porsche to consider building an electric sports car.

But for the past year or so, Porsche has been reading its Mission E electric Sports Coupe for market, complete with a 300+ mile range, Tesla-like 0-60 mph time and rapid charging technology that allows the car to refuel from empty to 80 percent full in as little as fifteen minutes. Even then however, Porsche stated it would aim for a relatively low-volume for the Mission E, with the majority of its sales still gasoline.
Now that’s changed, with Porsche CEO Oliver Blume stating last week that the company aims to make one half of its vehicles fully electric in just six years’ time.

What does that mean for the brand, its attitude toward plug-in cars, and why is it such a big piece of news in the first place?

Richard Morgan of Electric Classic Cars. This is an amazing machine, slightly faster than the original 1979 Porsche 911 SC Targa and beautifully converted. With a 54kWh battery from a Tesla Roadster and two motors end-on-end, it’s 0-60mph (0-97km/h) time has been improved by close to 1 second so “it’s certainly got a little bit of spirit!”.

Spark for the future: with the Mission E Cross Turismo, Porsche will be unveiling the concept study of an electrically driven cross utility vehicle (CUV) at the Geneva Motor Show. The strengths of the four-door Cross Turismo include an emotional design with striking off-road elements as well as an innovative display and operating concept with touchscreen and eye-tracking control. Measuring 4.95 metres in length, the concept vehicle has all-wheel drive and an 800-volt architecture, prepared for connection to the fast charging network. It can also be charged by induction, at a charging station or using the Porsche home energy storage system. Additionally, the debut of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS heralds the arrival of one of the most radical high-performance sports cars today. It produces 383 kW (520 hp) from a four-litre capacity.

Two permanent magnet synchronous motors (PSM) with a system output of more than 600 hp (440 kW) allow the Mission E Cross Turismo to accelerate to 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds and to reach a speed of 200 km/h in under 12 seconds. Furthermore, the level of continuous power is unmatched by any other electric vehicle: multiple accelerations are possible in direct succession without loss of performance.

‘The Mission E Cross Turismo is an expression of how we envision the all-electric future. It combines sportiness and everyday practicality in unique style. Our vehicle will be fast to drive, but also quick to recharge and able to replicate its performance time after time,’ says Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche AG. The Mission E Cross Turismo, which is already fit for the road, builds on the concept of the Mission E study presented by Porsche at the 2015 International Motor Show (IAA). The series-produced car based on this model will celebrate its premiere next year.

It took a while for the Porsche Mission e to get an official name. Even after settling on Taycan, however, it seems like Porsche wasn’t done naming stuff. So with that, meet the German fast-charging station with a brand new name: Porsche Pit Stop.

Part of the company’s planned EV charging network of 500 EV charging stations in North America, the Porsche Pit Stop is scheduled to be installed next. Just in time for the launch of the all-electric Porsche Taycan, in fact. Once ready, they’ll be able to charge the Taycan’s 800-volt battery in “ultra fast” time … whatever that means.

Even that charging network, though, is just part of a bigger plan to make Porsche buyers forget that there’s another super ultra fast charging network out there for a similarly fast, electric sedan. Porsche pretty much admits to it in the following excerpt from their release.

Porsche Is Getting A New All-Electric MAN eTGM Truck For Taycan Production

Porsche announced that it is adding a new 32-tonne all-electric truck to its commercial fleet to be used for the preparation of the production of the Taycan, Porsche’s first all-electric vehicle.

The German automaker says that it commisioned truck maker MAN to produce the all-electric truck. It is equipped with a 149 kWh battery pack that enables 130 km of range.

The battery-powered eTruck is a MAN eTGM 18.360 4×2 LL. The type designation indicates that the truck is a semitrailer tractor and belongs to the 18-tonne weight class, while the overall combination with a semitrailer is designed for a total weight of 32 tonnes in delivery traffic. The 360 figure represents the horsepower of the 265 kW eTruck. Lithium-ion batteries with a storage capacity of 149 kWh are used to store energy, making it possible for the eTruck to cover a range of 130 kilometres.

Porsche says that the vehicle will be used by its production logistics in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and noted that the “preparations for production of the first fully-electric Porsche are currently the core focus at Porsche headquarters.” They aim for the production plant of the Taycan to be a “zero-impact factory.”

Porsche plans to produce an impressive 40,000 all-electric Taycan cars per year

Porsche is reportedly doubling the planned production capacity for the Taycan, its first all-electric vehicle, to a massive 40,000 units per year. Previously, Porsche was reportedly planning to produce about 20,000 Taycan vehicles per year. At 40,000 units per year, it would become one of the company’s largest vehicle programs behind its SUVs like the Cayenne and Macan.

German magazine Automobilwoche reports that they have now approved the expansion of the production capacity to 40,000 units per year.